Bruno Mars Halftime Show: Why It Was Just As Good As Beyonce’s

There was skepticism before Feb. 2 that a star like Bruno wouldn’t be able to handle a huge stage like the Super Bowl, but in a sparkly gold jacket and with a little help from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the flying Hawaiian proved all the haters wrong.

Okay, I know I’m committing blasphemy, and I know that Beyonceprobably put out a hit for me the second I wrote this headline, but I have to stand up for what I believe in — on Feb. 2, Bruno Marsdefied all odds and put on an amazing halftime show at Super Bowl XLVIII that met the standards set by Queen Bey last year.

Bruno Mars & Red Hot Chili Peppers Dominate Super Bowl XLVIII

After a children’s choir told the world to “prepare” (in what was the eeriest rendition of “Billionaire” ever), Bruno kicked off halftime by displaying his versatility and ripping off a sick drum solo. He was then joined by his band, The Hooligans, who reinforced the fact that everyone loves a group of guys energetically dancing and doo-wopping in sync. Especially when those guys are decked out in shiny gold suits.

Bruno ripped through an upbeat set featuring “Locked Out of Heaven,” “Treasure,” and “Runaway Baby.” And as the band rocked out to that third song, and Bruno busted out some James Brown moves, they expertly rocked and transitioned into a familiar song — “Give It Away” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

This was my favorite part of the show — seeing these two generations collide. RHCP — obviously shirtless — never got a gig like this in their heyday, even though they deserved it, and they clearly took advantage of the belated opportunity. “Give It Away” is probably one of their hardest rocking songs, and they killed it. A bonus was getting to see Bruno and The Hooligans jump around like crazy while the legendary rock band did their thing.

Bruno Mars Steps Up With Huge Halftime Show

Bruno closed the show with a heartfelt tribute to the Armed Forces, letting many soldiers say hello to their loved ones to the tune of “Just The Way You Are.” So Bruno’s halftime show literally had everything — some funk, some doo-wop, a hefty helping of flashing lights, and a whole lot of emotion.

My only real complaint is that it felt a little too short. Bruno had a ton to live up to at Super Bowl XLVIII — I think there were a lot of people watching ready for him to fall flat. But he refused to, and he proved that he’s one of the top line performers in the music biz right now.

And according to StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, one thing that came out of the performance was ticket demand for Bruno Mars’s “Moonshine Jungle” has skyrocketed following his killer halftime performance. Bruno Mars is the number one searched term this week on StubHub for ALL events in concerts, theatre AND sports, proving that the Super Bowl stage is a premiere platform for music artists

Key StubHub findings include:

· Demand (page views) was increased by 2,410% on Monday, February 3rd.

· The highest hourly amount pages views came at 5pm PT on February 2nd, immediately following Bruno’s performance